Xianorus Campaign
The Xianorus Campaign is the name given to a military operation performed by the Kazdriel of Nareikk during the year 1246 of the Age of War. The campaign is led initially by Xianorus, a young captain from Sjura, and, after Xianorus' death, by Mazzek Kein Rettensauth. Background The war between Nareikk and Danetha in the late Age of War had been raging for several long, bloody years, with precious few Nareikk victories. The organisation of the Kazdriel had done more good than was originally hoped for, but were still focusing too much on defending Nareikk. The Kazdriel generals, Zaegrose and Nahama, knew that the country wouldn't last long if nothing was done, and so they sought the help of a new arrival in the country, Xianorus. He had joined the Kazdriel in the hope of helping his family, who were stranded in Danetha, and the Generals convinced him to put on an elabourate show where he convinced the soldiers of the Kazdriel that their only option was to attack Danetha itself, to show that Nareikk was not wholly spent. Formation In early April of 1246, the Kazdriel had assembled an army of thirteen-hundred soldiers; one thousand Kazdriel fitted with top-of-the-line gear, and three hundred soldiers of the Army of Nareikk and mercenaries, presumably from Sjura and Siun. Most of Jadina's Kazdriel population was emptied, and each and every recruit was fitted with new equipment specially crafted for the campaign. At once they set off from Jadina and marched south, through Broulada, entering Danethan territory on the 3rd of May 1246. Campaign On the first day of the Campaign's progress, the soldiers attacked the small Danethan village of Dokeria, and in the ensuing battle, occupied the town with relative ease, neutralizing the immediate threat from the Danethan Military in the town, not counting the large force of Cantharans which had been sent to reinforce the town, but had not participated in the battle and instead merely observed and fled when they were spotted. However, over the next five days of bivouacking in Dokeria's town square, rebellious Danethan peasants became more and more of a problem for the forces of Xianorus, and eventually his forces decided to abandon the town lest the political unrest become too much for them to handle. Moving southwest, briefly traversing the northernmost pinnacle of the Sacrime Desert, the campaign sought refuge in Fort Sarmenarin, a Kazdriel-controlled settlement run by Baron Dulcera, which took them in and housed them for over two months. However, in that time, the Cantharan forces of Zethix Dakrannsson, a special operative under the banner of the Danethan Emperor Camadrai II, laid siege to, and attacked, the fort. After it became aparent to Dulcera and Xianorus that the attacks to the fort would continue and increase until the Nareikkers were eliminated, both parties decided it in their best interests if Xianorus' were to leave the fort, and thus they continued their journey. Moving south and west again, the army arrived at length in the Green Region, a fertile section of Northern Danetha which was a peaceful "feeding" province for the rest of the country. Here they found the small city of Corensanith, and, after a short battle, occupied it. On the revelation that a contingent of their army had been captured by Zethix's Cantharans and taken to Trathusa Castle to the south, Xianorus, with the help of Nathaine, a local Nareikker who had lived among Danethans for years, successfully infiltrated the Castle and freed the prisoners in the Assault on Trathusa Castle. Their victory was cut short however, when, on returning to Corensanith and finding it under the occupation of Zethix, they were forced to flee the region and continue their journey southwards, hounded by the Cantharan cavalry. When at last they came to the Theurnan Cleft, which divides North and South Danetha, an ambush from the nearby city of Zamari impeded their march, and, in the ensuing Battle of Theurnan Cleft, Xianorus fell. Here it could be argued is where the Xianorus Campaign ended, though victory was claimed by the Nareikkers, and, before he died, Xianorus named Mazzek Kein Rettensauth, a corporal, the new commander. Under Captain Mazzek After Xianorus' death, the morale of the army was entirely sapped, and Captain Mazzek had no thoughts of continuing the campaign. They moved south, Mazzek hoping to find the coast where he intended to commandeer several ships and sail back to Nareikk in failure. After following the River Bjuane and reaching the town of Broutarin on the banks of the Amthracan Lake, the Nareikkers found that Zethix's Cantharans occupied the town and were formulating a plan when a ship sailed down the Bjuane all the way from Nareikk, containing a contingent of at least 250 soldiers of Nareikk, led by Commander Anaglan. He told Mazzek of his brother's death and presented him with his family's sword, Elénai. Mazzek's spirit was lifted by the arrival of reinforcements from Nareikk, and his grief over his brother's death drove him to attack Zethix once more. After a force of Nai'shanuk under Zethix's control attacked them in Broutarin, and Zethix escaped, pursued by the Nareikkers to Dunac, a derelict plague city in the south of Danetha, where he dug himself in and repelled with ease one of the Nareikker's attacks and mortally wounding Racen, a valuable warrior among Mazzek's ranks, a defeat which left him crushed and seeking to flee once more. The seaport of Demasca in Tarethec Bay was the Nareikkers' next target, where they intended to capture the Danethan vessels needed to take them home. However, Ceiden, a young Danethan private, found his way into the camp in an attempt to assassinate Mazzek, only to be found eventually to be helpful. He pointed Mazzek in the direction of Iluvana's Caverns, a mysterious tunnel-network that held the secrets of Magic. Mazzek went there and discovered that his sword, Elénai, was magical. On returning back to the camp with magic on his side, Mazzek was met by Ceana, a Mescanith ambassador from the far-away continent of Senraslihil, who traded with the Nareikkers for a cargo of his valuable musket weapons, which later served them well. Mazzek, armed with new weapons and renewed will, in addition to the capture of Erinah Resoni, his lover, went back to Dunac and there fought against Zethix in the city and temple, their new weaponry proving more than a match for the Nai'shanuk and Cantharan footsoldiers. Zethix escaped, though Taserks, his second-in-command, was killed by Rettensauth. The Nareikkers gave chase to Zethix, who fled to the south of Danetha and hid himself in Cainazam Castle, a fortress well known for being virtually impenetrable by enemy forces. Here Mazzek's army met the 34th Unit of the Royal Army of Lareoss, led by Laherian and Fura, two knights of Lareoss. They told the Nareikkers that they were walking into a death trap, and took them to Lareoss and their town, Alemáthe, where Lord Roleharth took them in. Here the campaign effectively ended, as the Nareikkers began working under Roleharth rather than the Kazdriel, but the cataclysmic Battle of Laberan Fields is generally accepted to be the end of the campaign, which saw the death of Zethix Dakrannsson, the defeat of both the Cantharan and the Danethan forces, but also the death of Mazzek himself. See Also * Danetha - Sjura War * Sacrein Campaign Category:Wars and Battles Category:Nareikk Category:Danetha Category:Sjura